Coming straight out of a dusty lava lamp that has been buzzing four days straight in a So-Cal garage, Blackfeet Braves confidently strum and jangle displaying their retro wares proudly.
Playing three shows in as many days, the New Orleans outfit the Stooges Brass Band was giving the Big Apple a taste of the Big Easy. The January 12th set at Brooklyn Bowl was short, funky and too the point.
Ahh the elder Punk…what becomes of him or her? Most 12 years old slam-dancers want to grow up to be Mike Ness but that can't be everyone's path. You can keep on the Hey Ho Let's Go! route until you die like godfathers The Ramones, or you could find yourself in some sort of mid tempo vortex of middling hell ala The Scenics with Dead Man Walks Down Bayview
kyline Drive is what happens when 60 Watt Kid guitarist Derrick Thomas downshifts from art-rock to Americana folk. Topanga Ranch Motel is the first offering from the Thomas lead group that drips cinematic, heartfelt, mid tempo, modern day folk numbers.
To celebrate their 50th anniversary the Preservation Hall Jazz Band took their show on the road to one of the most famous stages in the world, Carnegie Hall. Inviting friends along for the event the group played their hot style of jazz and blues to a receptive crowd on a cold New York City night and their newest release St. Peter & 57th St. is a live recording of that eventful night.
The bands sound and tone is reminiscent of a less wordy version of The Weakerthans in their style of making things seem happy even when singing about a “black spot in your heart”. There is no new ground broken by The White Wires on WWIII, but the songs are pleasant if firmly one note romps with solid production behind the garage band aesthetic.
When Band of Horses announced they would be playing two shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom on the same night, one acoustic and one electric, it had the feeling of a special event. When the band decided to play their entire catalog over the course of those two shows it upped the ante even more giving fans everything they could have possibly wished for from the group.
As the band evolves it will be interesting to see if they take a more standard “rock” road or move into the ether. Either way An Aside is a firm first step.
The small Webster Bank Arena usually hears the roar from its Sound Tigers (whatever the hell one of those are) but on this night the thundering came from an old rumbling Crazy Horse. Riding on the back of the outfit’s newest offering Psychedelic Pill, the band was pulling this successful tour to a close on this night in Connecticut.
What is quickly becoming a Thanksgiving tradition Robert Randolph and the Family Band has found a warm hospitable venue to stretch out pre and post turkey stuffing’s around the holiday. Brooklyn Bowl plays host to multiple nights of feel good performances as the venue seems to mesh perfectly with the artists on stage. Now in its second year, the shows are chock full of long improvisations, guest stars and a palpable sense of familial joy.
